Man I used to watch teen wolf (the mtv teen drama, not the movie—though that’s also awesome) back in the day, so I didn’t even question mistletoe being on the list. Though you’re right that wolfsbane would’ve been the go-to in my brain
The only reason it can kill Baldr is due to the nature of how he gained his invincibility. His mother, Frigg, after receiving a prophecy that harm shall befall Baldr, made all things in creation swear an oath to her in which they shall do no harm to her son; all except for mistletoe, as Frigg neglected to ask it, believing it to be too small and innocent of a thing to bother making it swear an oath against doing harm.
Loki, knowing this, tricked their cousin Hodr, into throwing a spear made of a mistletoe branch at Bladr as he was boasting about his newfound invincibility in celebration of avoiding the prophecy.
I like the implication that everything is sentient enough to swear oaths and choose whether or not to harm someone so that means mistletoe made the decision to kill Baldr in this story. Kind of a dick move mistletoe.
I was hoping that people would understand the background story and think that it was absurd that I would equivocate the slaying of Baldr with the ability to kill a werewolf, lol.
I would not have brought up Baldr in conversation had it not been for the like me being aware of the mythology.
But you do also have to admit that if we were in some sort of scary movie and my dumbass picked up a twig of mistletoe and looked you dead in the eye and said if it can kill a god, it can kill a werewolf and stabbed the bad guy werewolf and he fucking died from it, that would be funny as shit.
Mistletoe is already on the list. Iirc, there isn’t anything in lycanthropic lore about them being adversely affected by mistletoe.
So, with that in mind, it wouldn’t be the mistletoe itself it is recoiling from, it’s the implications.
It’s wolfsbane that werewolves hate, they got the plant wrong
Yup, already said that in another comment.
Yessir you did, didn’t notice till I had already wrote it
*writes neat tidbit that I know about a niche topic and post it*
*immediately see that it’s already mentioned it in another comment
I do that all the time.
Some types of mistletoe are toxic to dogs. Some types of mistletoe are also toxic to people.
Werewolves are both dog and people so they get 4x damage
While true, not something I’d base a meme on. The sexual/romantic connotations of mistletoe are far more well known.
Besides, in lycanthropic lore, wolfsbane is the herb of choice against werewolves.
Man I used to watch teen wolf (the mtv teen drama, not the movie—though that’s also awesome) back in the day, so I didn’t even question mistletoe being on the list. Though you’re right that wolfsbane would’ve been the go-to in my brain
werewolves HATE kissing because in dogs that’s a sign of submission and werewolves are all suffering from intense toxic masculinity
If mistletoe can kill a god (Baldr), then I don’t think a puny werewolf stands a chance.
The irony of choosing that myth…
The only reason it can kill Baldr is due to the nature of how he gained his invincibility. His mother, Frigg, after receiving a prophecy that harm shall befall Baldr, made all things in creation swear an oath to her in which they shall do no harm to her son; all except for mistletoe, as Frigg neglected to ask it, believing it to be too small and innocent of a thing to bother making it swear an oath against doing harm.
Loki, knowing this, tricked their cousin Hodr, into throwing a spear made of a mistletoe branch at Bladr as he was boasting about his newfound invincibility in celebration of avoiding the prophecy.
I like the implication that everything is sentient enough to swear oaths and choose whether or not to harm someone so that means mistletoe made the decision to kill Baldr in this story. Kind of a dick move mistletoe.
“Underestimate me, will you?”
I was hoping that people would understand the background story and think that it was absurd that I would equivocate the slaying of Baldr with the ability to kill a werewolf, lol.
I would not have brought up Baldr in conversation had it not been for the like me being aware of the mythology.
But you do also have to admit that if we were in some sort of scary movie and my dumbass picked up a twig of mistletoe and looked you dead in the eye and said if it can kill a god, it can kill a werewolf and stabbed the bad guy werewolf and he fucking died from it, that would be funny as shit.
On further thought, it would also be funny if I stabbed him with it. It had no effect whatsoever, and then he immediately murdered me.